Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-02-24
THE ASYLUM REPORT.
THE IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF DR.. BLAND
RECOMMENDED
By the Investigating Committee Upon Investigation o
the Serious Charges Against the Supern-
tendsnts Conduct and Gharaasr-GroSs
MISmanagement Of the Institution.
Spcciai Telegram 10 the Regiser.

L lie SpeClll Conullttee appOlnteu 10 hives
tigate the management and condition OF
the Insane Asylum, made the following
report to-day:
'7o the Legislature Of West Virginia:
The undersigned, appointed commit
tee 10 investigate the management and
condition Of the Hospital for the Insane
by joint resolution of your honorable
body, passed February 4th, 1887, beg
leave to submit the following report:
1--WE assembled at Weston after the
passage of the resolution and commenced
the investigation as soon as it was possible
for US TO do so. A majority Of the commit
tee were at Weston on Tuesday after the
passage of said resolution and commenced
taking the testimony. We have been dill
gently engaged in said investigation ever
since, beginning at 8 o'clock a. m. and
working until II and sometimes | o'clock
at night. We were not enabled TO conclude
the taking of testimony until this forenoon.
Charges were preferred before us by DR..
NJ. S. Holt against the Superintendent
of the Hospital of grave and
serious character, but we did
not consider ourselves confined to the
charges alone and consequently have inves-
tigated as far ~ we could the entire man
agement and condition of the hospital
The investigation assumed larger proper
tiOns than any of us anticipated it would
when we began it and hence we were COM
PEELED to work almost night and day in
order to report by the time required. We
all feel that if We had been given more
time we could have prepared and present
ed 4 report much more satisfactory TO our
selves and to the Legislature. As it is our
report must necessarily be brief and hasti-
ly prepared.
"The charges preferred by DR.. Holt
against the superintendent are herewith
returned as part of the report marked ex-
hibit b. The joint resolution appointing
us rs a committee required us tO return
the evidence taken by us with our report.
1t is impossible for us to comply with this
requirement, owing to the fact that our
stenographer has been constantly engaged
with us in taking the evidence and cOnse-
quently has had no time to transcribe the
same into long hand. He thinks it will
take him several weeks to transcribe the
great mass of evidence produced before us.
We have instructed him TO proceed
with the work as fast as pos
siblc, and transmit the same to
your honorable body if in session, other
wise to the Governor OF the State, unless
directed by the Legislature to transmit it
to some other department We all re-
gret our inability TO transmit the evidence
with this report, but it is unavoidable.
The stenOgrapher informs us that the
charge for transCribing the evidence will
he in his opinion about five hundred dol
lars.
''The express provision of the statute,
Code chapter 81, section ID, That after the
admission of patients an Examining Board
shall be convened as soon rs may be, is
systematically ignored. 1t may thus he
possible TO send idiots and mebriates to
the Hospital, and what is far worse there
is left no safeguard tn prevent the incar-
ccratiOn Of a sant person III the Hospital
on the commitment of q Justice and the
certificate Ofa purchasable quack. The Su-
perintendent and local directors are in fault
for not holding such boards, and the
directors generally are in fanlt for not see
ing that the law in this respect is obeyed.
1t is claimed that this provision of the
law is useless. If such be the opinion of
the authorities ofthe Hospital, they should
have recommended TO the Legislature the
repeal of that section Of the law.
"All our time has been so closely
occupied that we did not examine into the
financial transactions OF the Hospital, and
We have heard no complaint respecting
them. For like reasons, We have not
examined the books of account or the
Office of the clerk in investigating other
matters. However, we have ascertained
some facts which ought to he
made known to the legislature The
Treasurer gives bond in the penalty of $780,
600 with twOsureties. One of them is the
of the Hospital. With re-
spect to some of the funds at least ii
wOuld he the duty of the Superintendent
to detect and prove any defalcation Of
which a Treasurer might be guilty. The
Superintendent, therefore, should not be one
OF the sureties of the Treasurer. Ii is even
more remarkable that the Treasurer bond
is lodged with the Superintendent, 80 that
this bond for the indemnity of the State is
placed for safe keeping in the hands of the
sureties who signed it, The Board Of Di-
rectOrs might be expected 10 pay some
attention tO a matter of this sort A large
amount Of money is disbursed by the Su-
perintendent, there being at times a. much
a. i, 900 in his hands 4 large amount Of
personal property is in his charge. A bond
should be required of the Superintendent,
yet this has never been done. Some money
is also disbursed by the clerk, and bond
might properly be required Of him. The
business OF the Superintendent Office is
conducted IN a manner most lax and un-
systematic. Letters received are not pre-
served. Letters sent are not copied. Bonds
and important papers are kept in bundles
without any arrangement Records in
many instances are insufficient and are
sometimes without index, and there is n
general air of disorder and carelessness
which is incompatible. with the accurate
aud proper discharge Of duty. No one
will question, we presume, the importance
OF proper discipline even in the regulation
of the private household, and all will ad-
init the still greater importance Of proper
rule of government when the household
is a public institution composed Of en-
ployes, attendants and patients, the proper
government of such an establishment in
our opinion requires upon the part of the
governing head knowledge Of men and
the capacity to govern them. We regret
TO say that our observation and the proof
before US have convinced us of the absence
of such qualifications on the part Of DIR.
Bland, thus demonstrating in our jungment
a want Of executive ability in him and his
unfitness for the position he now holds.
''This investigation has revealed con-
duct upon the part of the Superintendent
in his intercourse with the female patients
which, without charging DIR. Bland with
impure motives, we are nevertheless COM
PEELED 10 characterize as indicate and
reprehepsible, such conduct consisting in
the visiting the rooms Of patients alone,
not only during the day, but at night and
after the lights in the hall had been put
out. Also familiarities and improprieties
towards patients which were well calcu-
lated TO cause comment and scandal among